Current Applications and Development of Composite Manufacturing Processes for Future Mobility

The acceleration of environmental pollution and global warming has resulted in increased environmental awareness and regulations to reduce carbon emissions. As the automotive industry is evolving from internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles to electric vehicles (EVs) and urban air mobility (UAM), composites have gained attraction for increased driving range and green mobility. However, composites, acclaimed to be an alternative to metals for its reduced weight and high mechanical properties, have not achieved successful mass adoption due to the tradeoff in performance and cost. While legislation is continuously being updated to tackle environmental concerns, automotive original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) have been hesitant to apply composite technology to mainstream vehicles, largely due to economic reasons. Therefore, latest developments have been focused on application of biodegradable composites and integration of robotic automation into composite manufacturing processes for eco-friendly, sustainable, cost-effective production. This paper reviews the latest applications of composite materials into modern vehicles and evaluates state of the art of composite manufacturing and recycling processes for green mobility.